Instead of the Big XII forming, you have these dominoes:

Big 8 merges with Big 10
SWC merges with SEC

How do the other power conferences react? Would there be enough revenue to go around?

Put down the Bong

(08-02-2021 10:18 PM)Erictelevision Wrote:  Instead of the Big XII forming, you have these dominoes:

Big 8 merges with Big 10
SWC merges with SEC

How do the other power conferences react? Would there be enough revenue to go around?

WTF.......

This isn’t as wild as it sounds and might have been a reality in the early 90s. These would not have been full mergers, only partials. The thought was that the best of the SWC and Big 8 would be gobbled into 14 or 16 team Big 10 and SEC conferences.

Bill Snyder of K St went so far as to propose that the leftovers of the Big 8 and SWC would intimately end up merging—ironically, he threw out 12 members as the conference size.

I'm pretty sure I've done some AH scenario like this before, but I can't find it.

So realistically, of the Big 8 schools, only Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma would have been acceptable to the Big Ten. Colorado would have too, but I see this as their opportunity to make the Pac-10 a Pac-11. As an AAU member, Iowa State would probably make the cut were they in another state, but they're redundant market-wise with Iowa. KSU and OSU have no chance. Assuming Penn State is already aboard, that gives the Big Ten 15 schools. Just as they held out spot #12 for Notre Dame in our timeline, they'll hold out spot #16 for ND in this timeline. And maybe if they're lucky, ND finally does join around 1999, when they came close to joining in our timeline.

The SEC picks up South Carolina as in our timeline, and in addition to Arkansas, they add Texas, Texas A&M, and tag-alongs Baylor and Texas Tech (for the same reason they tagged along into the Big 12 in our timeline) to make 16.

The Big 8 and SWC remnants unite under the SWC banner with Memphis, Southern Miss, and Tulane (and later, Cincinnati and Louisville).

Big Ten (2000)
East: Indiana, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue
North: Michigan State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Northwestern
South: Missouri, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas
West: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois

SEC (2000)
East: Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina
North: Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
South: LSU, Arkansas, Mississippi State, Ole Miss
West: Texas A&M, Texas, Texas Tech, Baylor

SWC (2000)
East: Cincinnati, Iowa State, Louisville, Memphis, Southern Miss, Tulane
West: Houston, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Rice, SMU, TCU

Meanwhile, as long as we're in fantasy mode, let's say a "Big Atlantic" superconference eventually forms from the ACC merging with 7 of the original Big East football schools.

BAC (2005)
East: Boston College, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse
North: Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia
South: Miami-FL, Georgia Tech, Duke, North Carolina
West: Florida State, Clemson, Wake Forest, NC State

I expect the Pac will want a CCG at some point and so will likely end up adding Utah. So that gives you a P4 composed of three 16-school conferences and one 12-school conference.

(08-03-2021 11:40 AM)Nerdlinger Wrote:  I'm pretty sure I've done some AH scenario like this before, but I can't find it.

So realistically, of the Big 8 schools, only Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma would have been acceptable to the Big Ten. Colorado would have too, but I see this as their opportunity to make the Pac-10 a Pac-11. As an AAU member, Iowa State would probably make the cut were they in another state, but they're redundant market-wise with Iowa. KSU and OSU have no chance. Assuming Penn State is already aboard, that gives the Big Ten 15 schools. Just as they held out spot #12 for Notre Dame in our timeline, they'll hold out spot #16 for ND in this timeline. And maybe if they're lucky, ND finally does join around 1999, when they came close to joining in our timeline.

The SEC picks up South Carolina as in our timeline, and in addition to Arkansas, they add Texas, Texas A&M, and tag-alongs Baylor and Texas Tech (for the same reason they tagged along in our timeline) to make 16.

The Big 8 and SWC remnants unite under the SWC banner with Memphis, Southern Miss, and Tulane (and later, Cincinnati and Louisville).

Big Ten (2000)
East: Indiana, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue
North: Michigan State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Northwestern
South: Missouri, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas
West: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois

SEC (2000)
East: Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina
North: Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
South: LSU, Arkansas, Mississippi State, Ole Miss
West: Texas A&M, Texas, Texas Tech, Baylor

SWC (2000)
East: Cincinnati, Iowa State, Louisville, Memphis, Southern Miss, Tulane
West: Houston, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Rice, SMU, TCU

I'd have OSU going into the SEC in place of Baylor. ISU probably in place of ND in the B1G, as ND would still be an Indy. Illini take ND spot in that North division.

Tech, KSU, TCU, Baylor to Pac16 if they were interested in 16, otherwise you can leave that SWC as is.

Could have happened, and it would have been a lot more balanced.

(08-03-2021 12:05 PM)RUScarlets Wrote:  

(08-03-2021 11:40 AM)Nerdlinger Wrote:  I'm pretty sure I've done some AH scenario like this before, but I can't find it.

So realistically, of the Big 8 schools, only Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma would have been acceptable to the Big Ten. Colorado would have too, but I see this as their opportunity to make the Pac-10 a Pac-11. As an AAU member, Iowa State would probably make the cut were they in another state, but they're redundant market-wise with Iowa. KSU and OSU have no chance. Assuming Penn State is already aboard, that gives the Big Ten 15 schools. Just as they held out spot #12 for Notre Dame in our timeline, they'll hold out spot #16 for ND in this timeline. And maybe if they're lucky, ND finally does join around 1999, when they came close to joining in our timeline.

The SEC picks up South Carolina as in our timeline, and in addition to Arkansas, they add Texas, Texas A&M, and tag-alongs Baylor and Texas Tech (for the same reason they tagged along in our timeline) to make 16.

The Big 8 and SWC remnants unite under the SWC banner with Memphis, Southern Miss, and Tulane (and later, Cincinnati and Louisville).

Big Ten (2000)
East: Indiana, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue
North: Michigan State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Northwestern
South: Missouri, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas
West: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois

SEC (2000)
East: Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina
North: Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
South: LSU, Arkansas, Mississippi State, Ole Miss
West: Texas A&M, Texas, Texas Tech, Baylor

SWC (2000)
East: Cincinnati, Iowa State, Louisville, Memphis, Southern Miss, Tulane
West: Houston, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Rice, SMU, TCU

I'd have OSU going into the SEC in place of Baylor. ISU probably in place of ND in the B1G, as ND would still be an Indy. Illini take ND spot in that North division.

Tech, KSU, TCU, Baylor to Pac16 if they were interested in 16, otherwise you can leave that SWC as is.

Could have happened, and it would have been a lot more balanced.

No offense, but I was going for at least some semblance of plausibility with this.

(08-03-2021 12:25 PM)Nerdlinger Wrote:  

(08-03-2021 12:05 PM)RUScarlets Wrote:  

(08-03-2021 11:40 AM)Nerdlinger Wrote:  I'm pretty sure I've done some AH scenario like this before, but I can't find it.

So realistically, of the Big 8 schools, only Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma would have been acceptable to the Big Ten. Colorado would have too, but I see this as their opportunity to make the Pac-10 a Pac-11. As an AAU member, Iowa State would probably make the cut were they in another state, but they're redundant market-wise with Iowa. KSU and OSU have no chance. Assuming Penn State is already aboard, that gives the Big Ten 15 schools. Just as they held out spot #12 for Notre Dame in our timeline, they'll hold out spot #16 for ND in this timeline. And maybe if they're lucky, ND finally does join around 1999, when they came close to joining in our timeline.

The SEC picks up South Carolina as in our timeline, and in addition to Arkansas, they add Texas, Texas A&M, and tag-alongs Baylor and Texas Tech (for the same reason they tagged along in our timeline) to make 16.

The Big 8 and SWC remnants unite under the SWC banner with Memphis, Southern Miss, and Tulane (and later, Cincinnati and Louisville).

Big Ten (2000)
East: Indiana, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue
North: Michigan State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Northwestern
South: Missouri, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas
West: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois

SEC (2000)
East: Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina
North: Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
South: LSU, Arkansas, Mississippi State, Ole Miss
West: Texas A&M, Texas, Texas Tech, Baylor

SWC (2000)
East: Cincinnati, Iowa State, Louisville, Memphis, Southern Miss, Tulane
West: Houston, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Rice, SMU, TCU

I'd have OSU going into the SEC in place of Baylor. ISU probably in place of ND in the B1G, as ND would still be an Indy. Illini take ND spot in that North division.

Tech, KSU, TCU, Baylor to Pac16 if they were interested in 16, otherwise you can leave that SWC as is.

Could have happened, and it would have been a lot more balanced.

No offense, but I was going for at least some semblance of plausibility with this.

Haha, so right!